For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2002-358377 discloses an image forming device which is equipped with a storage 216, which stores a name list of held functions, and a controller 213, which detects the functions being used, checks the detected functions against the name list of the held functions, generates information for the utilization of the held functions, and transmits the generated information to a terminal 12 via a communication unit 215.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2004-318333 discloses a proxy server 121, which receives the acquisition request information of connection equipment information from the external equipment (terminal equipment) 104, and authenticates the external equipment 104, connects through a fire wall 103 to a database management server 111 provided in the intra network 101 for managing connection equipment information on the basis of the authentication result, and transmits the received acquisition request information to the database management server 111, and receives the connection equipment information corresponding to the transmitted acquisition request information among the pieces of connection equipment information managed by the database management server 111 from the data base management server 111, and transmits the received connection equipment information to the external equipment 104.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2004-030625 discloses the mediation device 101, which sets the network environment information by writing it in a flash ROM, acquires management object information such as the secret information required for performing communication with the management device 102 via the Internet 112 from an image forming apparatus 100 via a LAN, reads the network environment information and the management object information in the flash ROM after setting the management object information by writing it in the flash ROM and transmits them to the management device 102 via a public line 103, when network environment information as the secret information required for performing communication with the management device 102 via the Internet 112 is inputted from an input section.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2012-255946 discloses a monitoring device which monitors a plurality of image forming devices being able to communicate therewith and transmits monitoring information collected by the monitoring to a central management device centrally managing information of the plurality of image forming devices. The monitoring device comprises: collection means for collecting the monitoring information from the plurality of image forming devices; storage means for storing the monitoring information collected by the collection means; transmission means for transmitting the monitoring information stored in the storage means to the central management device; selection means for receiving selection of a data type to be stored in a local network in the collected monitoring information; and output means for outputting data acquired according to the data type selected by the selection means as output data to store it in the local network form monitoring information transmitted by the transmission means.